Capture the Flag
by LivelySparrow97
Summary: Tonight will be the first capture the flag game for Camp Half-Blood in nearly eight months. Alliances are being made left and right and each team equals nearly one hundred demigods. Chiron has even decided to award laurels to the winning team captains. Who will be the winner of tonight's game? That will determined in a most exhilarating way.
1. The Nike Alliance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any characters related to the series. All credit for the general basis and setting of my story goes to the masterful author, Rick Riordan.  
**

Capture the flag was the favorite game of all the demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Tonight though, was going to be the biggest game yet. The bronze dragon Festus had been removed from the woods and this was going to be the first game in nearly eight months. Preparation was moving swiftly, as everyone (even the Aphrodite cabin) was excited. This time was different though. There were new demigods of different godly parentage. Plus, it was summer now and the Olympian gods has kept their promise. The demigods equaled nearly two hundred and tonight they were all going to fight. It would prove to be thrilling.

Throughout the warm July day, the Ares cabin stockpiled various weapons inside their cabin: grenades, missiles, javelins, poison darts, and celestial bronze swords. They cheerily promised a heck (they used a slightly stronger word) of a game tonight. The Apollo campers took a similar approach by sharpening their arrows and tightening their bow strings. Even the Aphrodite cabin was preparing. They spent their day checking their reflections in the swords they were polishing.

Another important thing happening between and during preparation was the creation of alliances. Through underhanded and lucrative deals as well as trade offs and a fair amount of bribery the teams began to form. By noon, the Poseidon cabin (blue team) allied itself with Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Apollo. The red team consisted of the rest led by the Ares cabin: Demeter, Aphrodite, and Dionysius. The minor gods' cabins had not made any alliances yet though.

* * *

The silk Athena banner snapped in the wind high above the command tent of the blue team. The grey tent lay in the picturesque hidden valley of Camp Half-Blood. The air smelled of ripening strawberries and salty ocean waters and sounded of reed pipes being played thoughtfully by satyrs. Beneath the owl flag, Annabeth finished laying out a strategy to her teammates which combined the best abilities of the five cabins. For now, they had a strong advantage of numbers and fighting ability.

"Malcolm," Annabeth explained to her second-in-command, "You'll lead the right flank of the Athena squad." She turned to Leo Valdez of Hephaestus, "Your cabin will be our flag's defense, do anything to repel them." After another moment of calculating her plans again, she handed a signaling horn to Travis Stoll of Hermes, "You and Connor will divide your cabin and go straight through the center. An Will...," she stared at the head counselor of the Apollo, "Your cabin is on sniper duty, both offensive and defensive." Annabeth asked somewhat exhaustedly, "Are we clear everyone?" The cabin counselors nodded excitedly in agreement. The Poseidon and Athena cabins already knew that, for now, they were responsible for capturing the flag.

Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend and hero of Olympus, put his arm around her and said, "Since we're clear, you can..uh..clear out." Annabeth rolled her eyes and brushed his arm away as the other four counselors walked off in a hurry to continue preparation.

She grabbed his arm back and dragged him towards the outer edge of the cabins, "Come on Percy, lets go see if we can make some more alliances," she said.

Until last summer, the cabin had only been a "U" shape, but now it was nearly a complete rectangle. The new cabins were for the children of the minor gods (with the exception of Hades).

Annabeth marched Percy to those very cabins. Percy expected her to go the Hades cabin since he was a major god, but instead she headed in a different direction, to Cabin Seventeen. The cabin itself was impressive: all glass and steel with various colored banners lining the sides. A rubber running track surrounded the cabin and about twenty mountain bikes were parked in the artificial turf yard beside it. A large steel structure stood beside the cabin and contained every sports item a person could want. There also seemed to be an abundance of Nike shoes laying around. Weightlifting, running on the track, and obsessively exercising all around the cabin were the children of Nike. The twenty-three most athletic, competitive, and fitness oriented teenagers a person could ever see. Perfect for capture the flag. Percy smiled, they didn't call the children of Athena wise for nothing. The Nike cabin would be a valuable asset for a team tonight. Then he frowned, the Ares cabin knows a good alliance when they see it too. The war god's children may have beaten them to it.

Annabeth pulled a kid about fifteen years old off a treadmill. He yelped as he was nearly thrown backward by the machine. Percy tried to remember his name, _Michael? No. Paul? No. _

"Sean," Annabeth said. Percy frowned again, _Sean? I don't remember a guy named Sean. _

"Sean," she continued, "Where's your head counselor?" Sean was stretching up and down as he listened to Annabeth. He pointed to the cabin then took off running down to the track.

We followed Sean's directions and walked toward the glass building. "If you ask me," Annabeth said as walked inside, "Nike's kids are better fighters than Ares' kids. The Ares cabin fights with dangerous weapons, but the Nike cabin fights with their own strength.

Inside the Nike cabin, was more astounding than the outside. The ground had been dug out beneath the cabin about in about the size of three football fields. The sun filled "space" beneath the glass cube contained an Olympic sized pool, a basketball court, a volleyball court, a tennis court, and multiple other courts, fields, and rings.

"Wow," Percy said.

"It's amazing what you can do with so little above ground space, " remarked Annabeth, "Just look at the glass structural support beneath the weight room!"

Percy shook his head grinning, leave it to a child of Athena to be amazed by structural supports beneath a weight room.

After maneuvering their way through a couple regular sports games turned into hardcore exercise programs, they found Brandon Michezo, the head counselor. The son of Poseidon and daughter of Athena watched as Brandon took down two of his siblings in a "mixed martial arts" match.

A short Asian girl walked up to Annabeth and Percy and said, "If you want to talk to Brandon, it will have to be up there." She gestured to the karate ring, "He doesn't like to be disturbed when he's doing that." She grinned as she saw our faces of disbelief. "Good luck," she said through a smile. The demigod walked toward the multicolored ring.

Percy looked at Annabeth, "I'll do it," he said, "I can beat him."

"No way, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth laughed as she playfully punched his arm. "I've always wanted to see a fight between a child of victory and a child of war strategy." Percy glanced between her and Brandon as she talked and he simultaneously took down another two opponents. She continued, "I guess I'll actually be able to experience it!"

"A real thrill," Percy said dryly as Brandon slammed the short Asian girl they had just talked to over the side of the ring. But Annabeth was already climbing up the side of the ring. A few of Nike's children glanced as her in disbelief and others in amazement. _Yep, ladies and gentleman, that's my girlfriend, _Percy thought.

Annabeth landed squarely in the ring after she jumped the side. Brandon second glanced her. He stood a few inches above her and had dark short cropped hair. He wore a tight fitting blue muscle shirt that displayed his gigantic muscles. Annabeth wore a simple pink tank top emblazoned with orange sequins and her light blond hair was loosely curled.

"Daughter of Athena," Brandon exclaimed in a fittingly deep voice , "I respect your cabin greatly, but you're in my territory now." He laughed, "I'll show you no mercy." He reminded Percy of Clarisse, but more...able to win. Percy shook his head, the cabin, the power of Nike was messing with him. He wanted to think, _Annabeth will lose...Nike and her kids...they'll always win. _Percy really hoped Annabeth wasn't getting the same vibes.

"Less talk Brandon," smirked Annabeth, "I thought Nike's kids couldn't talk so much."

With that insult (albeit a minor one), Brandon lunged. Annabeth leapt sideways narrowly missing the first attack. Brandon swung his foot around catching Annabeth in the chin. She fell backwards, but quickly regained her footing. She feinted a punch to left, and got a swift side kick in as he dodged right. He swung a controlled fist forward, but Annabeth took it and flipped him over her. He didn't let go though and kicked backwards hitting Annabeth in the thighs. She released him as she fell. She let out a momentary yell as he came for her again. Annabeth's gray eyes narrowed, she would not be beat. She leapt high forward, using Brandon's forward momentum to propel her over him. This gave her a chance to breathe. He came again, slowly, realizing he was facing a worthy opponent. His shirt was becoming a shade darker with sweat.

"You're good," he said with grudging respect. He circled around her kicking like a whirlwind. Annabeth managed to dodge the first few kicks, then caught one. She heaved Brandon around letting him fly into the side of the ring. He groaned as he painfully stood. Percy noticed that he had a streak of blood across his face. Once again, Brandon attacked differently though. Now, he landed on his toes so as not to linger on the ground for more that a moment, more lithe and agile. Annabeth adapted a defensive strategy catching his strikes and trying to send them back to him. He swung a wide kick over her, a weird move as Percy saw it. As it passed over her, Annabeth tried to leap out its shadow but the return strike was too swift and powerful. It hit her side with bone-breaking force. Annabeth fell to her other side, panting heavily.

"Done?" Brandon asked through a suppressed smile.

"Done," Annabeth said defeatedly. Brandon helped her up and called for a medic though Annabeth insisted she was fine. Nevertheless, a medic quickly checked her over as Percy managed to climb his way into the ring. The medic demigod declared that she was okay.

"Welcome to Cabin Seventeen! So what brings the head counselors of the Athena and Poseidon cabins here?" Brandon asked. "Cabin inspection perhaps?" He waved his hand at the multiple sports item strewn about the arena. He laughed, "As you can see we're quite unprepared!"

"Not today," Annabeth said as she glanced warily at a bruise that had just appeared on her arm, "To be frank, we want to make a temporary alliance with your cabin."

"For capture the flag?"

"Yes," she answered.

Brandon leaned back against the ring's sides no doubt wallowing in his victory. He responded, "You put up a good fight. As good as any child of Nike." He opened a RedBull can brought to him by a naiad. He took a sip then said, "But...we have already received an offer from the Ares cabin."

Annabeth tilted her head, her eyes calculating at light speed. She spoke, "You didn't accept, did you."

Brandon also tilted his head quizzically. "No," he affirmed, "We haven't agreed to anything yet."

The daughter of Athena smirked, "The children of Nike using wisdom to make a choice? Interesting."

Brandon snorted, "We'll use our wisdom," he glanced at Annabeth, "and the wisdom of others...when it comes to winning. So far, you have a large advantage in battle skill among others.

A large scoreboard sounded, letting the entire cabin know the current scores of the many games in session. A cheer went up when the martial arts score said **Michezo 15/Chase 12**. Annabeth grimaced as she ran her hand through her light blond hair.

Percy leaned forward expectantly, "So... you'll accept our offer."

Brandon grinned. "So, yes," he said confidently.


	2. The Iris Alliance

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had just finished making an alliance with the Nike cabin for Capture the Flag and were heading in the direction of another cabin when the ground erupted.

Actually, a bomb when off right in front of the two teens. Both were thrown a couple feet backwards like rag dolls landing very unflatteringly. Before them was a smoking crater surrounded by a ring of smoldering grass.

The laughing jeers of the Ares cabin came next. From across the commons yard Clarisse yelled, "You two should really try to stay on your feet!"

Clarisse's lieutenant Sherman came running over to Percy and Annabeth.

"Like it?" He said excitedly, "We were just trying it out for tonight!"

Percy helped Annabeth up and glared at him. He opened his mouth, about to say something rather...Greek.

Annabeth put her hand his shoulder, "Save it Percy. We'll deal with them tonight." They left in the direction of the Nemesis cabin, brushing themselves off as they went, leaving Sherman idiotically laughing his head off.

The Nemesis cabin looked like an ordinary summer camp cabin similar to the Hermes cabin but more well-kept. Nothing particularly special about it other than the number '16' and a old fashioned scale. There was window on each side with a flower box hanging beneath it. A few demigods sat on the front stoop.

Percy stepped forward and said, "Damien." The oldest one looked up, squinting in the sunlight. Percy noticed he had a black eye, as well as a few scars.

"Yeah," he said. Percy developed a soft spot for the Nemesis kids ever since he saw what happened to Ethan Nakamura, so it was no surprise Percy wanted them on his team.

Annabeth studied Damien with her startlingly grey eyes, "We want you on our team."

Damien stood and sighed, "Really?" Percy gave a short nod. "I'm sorry," he said, "We've already joined another team. The red team." He shook my hand, "Oh and good luck," he added. Damien and his two siblings walked into their cabin and shut the door.

Percy bit his lip. This wasn't good news. The Nemesis kids were good allies and fighters. And after Ethan turned to the enemy. Percy thought, _Just because Ethan turned against me doesn't mean they will to._

" A bit abrupt with words, aren't they," Annabeth remarked. She glanced at Percy and saw his disappointment. She said, "Come on Percy. At least we got Nike."

Percy stared uncertainly at Cabin Sixteen, "Yeah but..." Annabeth dragged him away from the cabin and they headed to the Iris Cabin.

* * *

"Get moving!" Clarisse angrily barked orders to her cabin. She sighed and rubbed her head, _No one ever has any respect for head counselors anymore. _The Ares cabin had nearly finished gathering weapons, but they were behind on time. It was quarter till two in the afternoon and they still hadn't set the land mines, gas bombs, and traps in the woods yet. "You scum!" Clarisse yelled, "We're done here! Into the woods!" Her cabin mates quickly obeyed her, scrambling over each other to get out the door. She sat on her bunk, kicking her leather boots up on her bed. She gazed around her cabin. The inside was as sloppily painted as the outside. Red walls, with black trim. A metal coat rack stood off to the side, holding about ten leather jackets. The cabin appeared rough, but not overly hostile. But Clarisse knew, beneath every soft pillow soundly lay an semi-automatic handgun. Beneath every floor board was a motion sensing chloroform bomb. Clarisse smiled, that was just the tip of the iceberg. She smiled even wider, her most powerful ally, Piper McLean was making alliances with her special power that very moment.

* * *

The rainbow goddess Iris's kids weren't usually powerful. In fact, they weren't even great fighters. Laurel, daughter of Aphrodite and half-sister of Piper, didn't understand why they were going to make an alliance with them. But, she didn't want to bring it up with Piper. The Aphrodite head counselor wasn't in too great a mood. Brandon Michezo, head counselor of the Nike cabin, had resisted her charm speak, much to Piper's dismay. But they at least acquired a few other alliances. She absolutely hated using her power on people. She hated using charm speak more than wearing sparkly pink clothes, but she certainly wasn't going to fight Brandon in a "mixed martial arts".

When they arrived at the shimmering rainbow door of the cabin, Laurel asked, "Think we should knock?"

Piper shook her head, "No. We just enter." She looked at the shimmering light, "Besides you can't physically knock." With that, they went through the glistening curtain of light.

"Wow," both girls remarked. The exterior of the Iris cabin was a tall building with marbles sides which shimmered in the sun. A huge stained glass window highlighted the front with moving shades of color, making the flashy cabin look similar to a cathedral. Inside, a mosaic tile floor moved and shifted forming different colors and shades. Sometimes gold, sometimes pink or turquoise. Golden tiled fountains splashed colored waters which gave off a a heavy mist. The walls also changed colors from time to time. Thousands of exotic flowers blossomed at shocking speeds (like a time lapse video). Birds of paradise flew around the cabin's high vaulted ceiling, then landed in the psychedelic flora. The Iris cabin was the world's largest kaleidoscope. Sixteen demigods were divided up between various means of communication. Four or five kids were running around talking in a bluetooth headset. Three others were answering and transferring calls on an old fashioned switchboard. The rest were transferring Iris messages in a glistening rainbow waterfall at the back of the cabin.

A girl noticed Piper and Laurel and ran up to greet them. "Welcome!" She said smiling. Her eyes grew distant, "Please hold." She refocused on us for a moment and held up a finger. "Valerie. Please direct all my calls to Melanie. Im heading offline for a moment." The demigod was a pretty girl about fourteen with curly platinum blonde hair streaked with blue and purple highlights. She shook our hand warmly and displayed her unnaturally white smile. She smiled, "I'm Jane. Head counselor of Iris during the summer. How can I be of service. Oh and Piper dear," she smiled at the other head counselor, "Please don't try charm speak as a means of communication. We don't appreciate it."

Piper stared dumbfounded at Jane. She asked unsteadily, "H..how did you know."

The daughter of Iris clasped her hands, "We're children of Iris! Communication is our business!" Piper laughed uncertainly and twirled her choppy hair nearly taking out her eagle feather.

Laurel laughed, "She wouldn't have used it. She hates using it on innocent people. Just don't get on her bad side though."

Jane pulled out a brightly lit Android smart phone. Piper cleared her throat and gestured at the phone and the Bluetooth headset and said, "I thought demigods couldn't use technology. Chiron said it attracts monsters and other nasty things."

Jane nodded, "For most demigods..." She held her headset and yelled, "Valerie! I gave you strict orders to direct all calls away from me." She glanced at us, "Children of Iris can use any means of communication. Its sort of her blessing."

"Jane!" The call came from a guy across the room. "Jane, we got Hermes on line three. He's not happy!"

Jane forced a smile, "I'm terribly sorry. I have to go." She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear, "Last time we didn't put a call through for Hermes he nearly shut down our mortal connections." Jane checked her buzzing phone again, "Oh and we accept your offer. We'll be on your team." She turned and sprinted off towards the prism waterfall.

Laurel squealed with excitement, "Yes. We have them on our side!" She thought for a moment then asked,"Why is that good?"

Piper smiled and put her arm around her half-sister, "Are you sure you're not a blonde beneath those dark roots." She then explained, "Because...those kids can create a communication system that will link all of our team, so we can easily talk to each other."

As they exited the cabin Laurel laughed and clapped her hands, "We're so going to win!"

"Piper McLean!" The girls swiveled to face the speakers. Against the blazing sun, the two girls could only make the vague silhouettes of the son of Poseidon and daughter of Athena.

Annabeth Chase marched up to Piper and asked, "Making alliances?" She glanced over Piper's shoulder, "The Iris cabin I see."

Piper nodded smugly, "I wouldn't go in there. You're too late."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and shifted her feet, "You didn't."

"If you're accusing me of charm speak..," Piper began.

Percy stepped between the two girls and warned, "Come on you two. Remember you're friends."

Piper smiled somewhat coldly, "Of course."

Laurel grabbed them both by the shoulders and laughed, "I love you two! Especially when you're on opposite teams."

Percy stared in disbelief, "You can't let a game get between you two."

Annabeth laughed warmly and punched his arm, "Percy!"

Piper also laughed and said, "It's just friendly competition."

BOOM! A flare lit up the sky above the woods. The flames lingered for a moment before dissipating in the blue sky. Piper said quickly, "Oh gosh. We have to go." She grabbed Laurel and they sprinted towards the woods.

Annabeth crouched down slammed her knife into the grass covered dirt, "Percy, we're too late and it's all my fault."

Percy motioned to the other cabins, "We can still try to make alliances with them."

Annabeth clenched her teeth, "No, we're too late. If I didn't take so long to lay out the strategy..."

Percy pulled Annabeth into a hug. He said, "Darling, don't tear yourself up about it!"

"The teams are set now Percy," Annabeth said. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail. She continued, "I guess we better make the best of it." She began to walk in the direction of the Athena cabin, grumbling to herself about being too stupid.

Percy thought for a moment, "Annabeth!" He yelled, "I know where we get one more alliance."


	3. The Hunters of Artemis

Beneath the high trees of a Colorado forest, a deadly skirmish was in play. The sun was shining high above, but it hardly reached the blood and powder stained ground where many a monster and hunter was slain. The fierce battle had begun its third act.

"Fall back!" The command was ordered by Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and lieutenant of Artemis, as she drove her silver hunting knife into Mormo. The grotesque monster Mormo, was a vampire who devoured children. In Greek times, she kept to herself sneaking about in the shadows. Today unfortunately, Mormo acquired a small army of empusae. The empusa was a creation of Hecate, half animal/half black magic. Mormo also joined with her sister, Lamia. She had the same occupation as Mormo. Devouring kids. Lamia was a beautiful woman with raven colored hair and tan skin, her only external flaws were her fangs and claw-like nails. Mormo, on the other hand, had stretched skin so tight, it was nearly transparent. That plus fangs and claws as well as a few clumps of hair, pretty much sums her up.

Mormo screamed as she buckled under the force of the knife, but she didn't dissipate. The huntress extracted her knife and watched in dismay as the monster's horribly clear skin melted back into place. The daughter of Zeus grimaced and leapt into the ongoing fray.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Three arrows sprouted from Mormo's neck. The glinting silver melted into the hideous creature's neck. Mormo breathed in deeply like she was enjoying a flower's scent. She laughed, "Insignificant goddess!" Artemis appeared on her left and went in for the kill with her two silver knives.

The rest of the hunters weren't having much better luck. Most of their arrows were spent and broken. An empusa slashed down a hunter and continued to slash and wrestle hunters to the forest floor which was now badly burned from the empusae's wild hair.

As Lamia kicked, slashed, and bit, she managed to back Thalia into a tree. The proud huntress grinned, "Now we'll have some fun." She threw her hunting knife with precision at Lamia. The monster dodged it cleanly, but a poor unfortunate empusa was not so lucky. She howled and exploded into a cloud of yellow dust. Thalia tapped her bracelet and Aegis sprung to life. Then she took a mace canister from her silvery parka's pocket. The canister collapsed and expanded into a very large celestial bronze spear. "Yeah!" She yelled fiercely. The sky darkened and rumbled. A bright flash of lightning cackled out the sky and struck Thalia's spear like a conductor. The lightning rolled off the spear and struck Lamia in her stomach. Her skin flickered with electric light and she fell on her side, moaning. Thalia ran up to her quickly to finish the job.

When Thalia finished and looked around at the surrounding battle, she saw that Artemis had bested Marmo and the rest of the hunters had killed nearly of all of the empusae. Thalia finished off the remaining monsters wish a few flashes of lightning.

Artemis brushed some yellow monster powder off of her silk hunting dress and commanded,"Let's move!"

After giving a proper burial to the fallen hunters, the hunters swiftly gathered the arrows they could salvage and prepared to move. But they never expected a hellhound.

Within a fraction of second a hellhound melted out a pine tree and every hunter had notched an arrow or two. Well, thankfully there was no bloodshed, because the hellhound was Mrs. O'Leary and riding her was Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

The demigods tumbled off of the giant dog (which collapsed from exhaustion) and landed before many pointed arrows.

"Percy Jackson and Anna..," Artemis began angrily, but was interrupted by Thalia.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Thalia rushed forward and tackled them in a bear hug. She exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Artemis, though happy to see them as well, tried to maintain a stern face. She said coldly, "I was going to ask you the same thing. How did you find us? The whereabouts of the hunters is supposed to be concealed as well as secret." She glared pointedly at Thalia.

"Lady Artemis. I didn't give them any hint where we were hunting," Thalia began.

Percy cleared his throat and spoke up, "Lady Artemis. We didn't know where to look. We just asked Mrs. O'Leary and she took us here."

As if on cue, Mrs. O'Leary got up and wagged her tail and whimpered at Artemis. The only problem was that when she wagged her tail it shook the forest floor and kicked up all of the monster dust.

"Perseus Jackson!" The goddess exclaimed, "Control your...dog." It was obvious that she had want to say something a bit less friendly, but the hellhound immediately stopped and hung her head low. Artemis continued, "I dislike the fact that creature of the underworld can so easily find us." She glanced at Mrs. O'Leary again, "I assume you have need of us. Surely you didn't shadow travel to talk. You could have Iris messaged."

Annabeth spoke up, "No, my lady. We have need of the hunters."

Thalia asked very excitedly, her bright blue eyes very focused, "For what?"

"To be on our team in capture the flag," Annabeth answered calmly. When she stayed at Camp Half-Blood, Thalia had relished the game and even fought (quite fiercely) against the the hunters she now led.

Artemis sighed, "You journeyed all that way, just to ask us to join your petty game?"

Thalia looked very sincerely at the Olympian goddess. She asked intently, "With your consent my lady, I would like to take part in this game and have some hunters join me in this game as well."

The goddess bit her lip and studied the faces of her lieutenant and the Camp Half-Blood demigods who had their arms around each other. She clucked her tongue disapprovingly, "You would interrupt our hunt and rather join them than us." She said a bit reluctantly, "But...I enjoy the thrill of an exciting game and if you see this an exciting game than you may go ahead." She noticed that a smile was stretching between the three friends. Artemis continued, "You may take ten hunters of your choice with you. Best of luck."

Thalia squeezed her friends tightly and laughed, "This'll be fun!"

Two minutes later, the thirteen warriors watched as Artemis and the remaining hunters slipped silently into the woods.

Thalia glanced at the snoring dog and turned to Percy, "Now, how do we get back?"

After waking up Mrs. O'Leary and bribing her with some treats they finally got everyone on top of her. Mrs. O'Leary was the size of a school bus, so they all had plenty of room. The hunters sat in the back because they refused to be by a male, so the order went Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and then the hunters. After some more coaxing, the hellhound jumped straight into a tree.

* * *

They survived some nerve wracking shadow travel before the thirteen team members arrived in the deep woods of Camp Half-Blood a few seconds later to the great surprise of three Ares campers.

Mrs. O'Leary didn't even try to stand, she just collapsed and snored away.

"Thalia," Annabeth said, "Tell the hunters to go see Malcolm at the Athena cabin. He can give them tonight's strategy." Thalia relayed the order to her hunters.

The Ares kids stared in disbelief as ten hunters of Artemis in silver parkas and bows and quivers in tow sprinted confidently (coldly) passed them. The hunters were soon out of sight.

"Gregory, Jonathan, Kaylee," Percy said, "You remember Thalia and the hunters of Artemis."

Jonathan stuttered as his sister kicked a bomb into a bush, "Percy," he sputtered. "You din't get the hunters to be your team, did you?"

"Yes," Annabeth said smugly, "Yes, we did. It's payback for grabbing all of the minor cabins."

A monster howled nearby in the woods and the ground shook. A few leaves fluttered to forest floor. It was the Ares kids' time to look smug.

Thalia looked uneasy and her hand hovered nervously over her bracelet. She asked warily, "What was that?"

Kaylee laughed, "Triple G Ranch sends its regards!" She and her two brothers sprinted away, but not before springing a net that wrapped around the trees surrounding Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth in a square trap. Kaylee turned and yelled from a distance, "We were saving that for tonight, but I think Clarisse would like this better!"

The net continued to spiral up the trees until it reached the top and lashed together. Thalia examined the net closely, "It looks thin enough, I think we could break it."

Annabeth shook her head, "Its from the Ares cabin. We won't be able to."

Percy uncapped Riptide and said, "We'll at least try." He began to slash at the the net furiously, but the trap didn't even get scratched. "Its metal," he concluded.

"Thanks Sherlock," Thalia grunted. She yelled and lightning fell from the sky striking the top of net. The net smoke and electricity charged through it.

"Ahh!" Annabeth yelled as a dozen sparks flickered off the net. She looked at Thalia, "What are you trying to do? Fry us?" She took out her celestial bronze knife and attempted to cut a strand of tightly woven metal.

ROOAAR! A scaly monster leapt out of the brush and landed upside down on one of trees the net was wrapped around. Mrs. O'Leary licked her lips and rolled over. The monster took no notice of her.

"What's that?" Came the cry of the three demigods. They backed as far away from the creature as possible.

Annabeth tried to use reason, "If we can't get out, it can't get in." On cue, the monster slashed and bit at the net, but to no avail. The monster had large fangs, greenish-brown scaly skin, claws that were about twice as long as its fangs, and a reptilian tale. Just your everyday neighborly monster.

Percy yelled in disbelief, "Is that even a Greek monster?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Must be!"

SHWRIPP! The bottom of the net began to unravel. The edges of the metal frayed like fabric and split. Within a few seconds, a foot (height wise) of net was already gone.

Thalia let out a "Yarrgh!" She yelled, "That would happen!"

"Climb!" Annabeth commanded. The net's openings were large enough to put a hand and a foot through, so they began to climb quickly, praying to their parents for protection. Instead of getting protection, the monster noticed the enlarging opening at the bottom. It leapt down and rolled beneath it, slavering its ferocious teeth up at the demigods.

Percy looked desperately at the hunter, "Thalia! Show it Aegis!"

Thalia didn't even return a glance as she quickened her pace and spoke, "I wouldn't be able to climb with it!"

The monsters began leaping up, holding on with its claws. The demigods were climbing with extreme desperation. They had to reach the top. They had nearly made it when Annabeth screamed. The monster had grabbed her ankle.

"Percy!" She screamed. She tried to kick, but the monster's grip was far too strong and it was unfazed by her other foot. Its grimy claws cut her skin. Percy swung Riptide, but the monster leapt on the other side of Annabeth, still grasping her ankle. Unfortunately for the monster, he leapt onto Thalia's side. She brought out her spear and drove it into its back. This gave Annabeth a chance to get her knife. She slashed at the monster's wrist, separating its hand and arm. The monster didn't dissipate but dropped down few yards on the yet, which was continuing to unravel up.

"Percy! Annabeth! Grab onto a tree! Don't touch the net!" Thalia commanded. They swiftly obeyed her, though it was difficult because of the height at which they were at.

Thalia gripped her spear tightly and prayed to her father. The monster was coming back, climbing slower now. Thunder shook the valley of Camp Half-Blood. White hot lighting slammed down upon the net. The trees in the surrounding area shook and a few pieces of bark were shaved off their sides. Thalia grimaced as she felt the shock, but she didn't let go. The monster was burned as electricity coursed through its body. The net unraveled past the monster and it grabbed desperately at the air. It fell back towards the earth and exploded in a H-Bomb of yellow powder.

Thalia leapt quickly onto a tree, gripping it with sweaty hands as the net unraveled totally, disappearing into grey dust. Though she was daughter of the sky god, she was very much afraid of heights. She said angrily, "The Ares cabin is going to feel the wrath of the hunters of Artemis tonight!"


	4. Dinner, with a side of strategy

It was nearly five o'clock at Camp Half-Blood and the sun was still high in the warm summer sky. The satyrs were playing a tune that sounded suspiciously of JLO making the lush strawberries grow at supernatural speeds. The rolling hills of Long Island and the mist hid Camp half-Blood from mortal eyes. From the ordinary viewer, there were strawberry fields occupying Farm Road 3.141, Long Island, New York 11954. But to a demigod, there was a large blue farmhouse, as well as various Greek buildings, and flying horses (easily mistaken for large birds). The alliances had been set for tonight's capture the flag games. On the blue team, led by the Poseidon and Athena cabins: Hephaestus, Hermes, Apollo, Nike, and the Hunters of Artemis. On the red team, led by the Ares cabin: Demeter, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hades, Iris, Hypnos, Nemesis, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate. Teams captains for the blue team were Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson and for the red team were Clarisse LaRue and Piper McLean. Each team consisted of roughly one hundred warriors, more or less. Chiron decided to erect a podium in the amphitheater for the winners. The wise old centaur was even going to award laurels to the team captains (Despite the insistence of Mr. D that they didn't need the honor). The thrilling game was scheduled for seven o'clock, two hours from now.

* * *

Looking for new strategies, Annabeth scoured the eternity of documents in the Athena cabin. Her siblings dismissed the children of Tyche and of the other minor gods as the only the "minor children of a minor god", but Annabeth knew better than to underestimate the minor gods. Though Annabeth believed Tyche's children had no wisdom at all, she had seen them in action. Always in last place until the end, where they pull out ten times ahead of the competition. She would never be unwise enough to gamble against them. Hebe was nothing to worry about, they weren't fond of fighting. The Hypnos cabin (if they weren't sleeping) might be putting the enemy demigods to sleep. They could be a problem. Annabeth shuddered when she thought of the Hades cabin. Only two kids occupied it, but they were powerful. Nico DiAngelo and Alexis Dellamore, son and daughter of the god of the underworld. No doubt they would cook up some deathly scheme. The Iris kids would no doubt create a communication system linking the entire team. And Hecate...those kids were the wild card. Their mother was the goddess of magic, so there was no telling what tricks they would conjure. Then there were the major gods' children...

Horns sounded in the distance, signaling dinner in the mess hall, an open air Greek pavilion. The noise shattered Annabeth's thoughts.

"Annabeth! Are you coming?" Malcolm asked. He and the rest of the Athena campers had watched their head counselor desperately search for a plan of action. Annabeth had Malcolm look through Daedalus' laptop, but it proved useless. The sleek silver machine now sat on Annabeth's desk; a Greek delta on the top lit up every couple of seconds.

Annabeth let out a disappointed sigh, "Yes," she said. The thirty-one Athena campers filed out of their cabin and marched up to the mess hall across the verdant grass. Annabeth spotted Percy and his siblings, as they trekked towards their dinner. Soon, the Poseidon cabin fell into step beside the Athena cabin. Except for the Aphrodite and Hebe cabins, the Poseidon and Athena cabins were the closest in friendship (thanks one hundred percent to the dating head counselors).

Percy looked at his fellow head counselor as they walked, "Found a new strategy?"

Annabeth glanced around at the other cabins walking to the mess hall. She said, "Yeah, I think I have it." She glanced at the approaching cabins, "We'll talk after dinner."

The dining pavilion didn't have a roof, just Greek columns lining a stone platform with twelve picnic tables. Eight other picnic tables were set on adjacent stone patios. Each cabin sat on its designated picnic table and they were not allowed to intermingle.

"Quiet down. Everybody sit." Chiron ordered. His horse half pranced excitedly around the pavilion. Mr. D glanced listlessly at the incoming demigods as he sipped a diet Coke. He grimaced and grew a grapevine around his finger.

Within a few minutes, two hundred demigods, fifteen satyrs, and eleven Hunters of Artemis were all seated.

Chiron looked warily at the Hunters, who sat at the usually unoccupied table of Artemis.

The centaur cleared his throat, "Mr. D and I decided that we should review the rules and regulations of capture the flag." The wine god threw an empty Coke can at a cowering satyr. The satyr promptly caught the can and began chewing it. Chiron continued, "And as you can see, the Hunters of Artemis are our honored guests and shall participate in tonight's game." This was met by cheers from the blue team and death looks from the red team.

After scraping some of their into the bronze braziers as offerings to the gods, the campers ate a rushed dinner, brought to then by wood nymphs, as Chiron set down the rules. He said, "The creek is the boundary as usual. The entire woods are fair game. All weapons and forms of weaponry allowed. No maiming or killing allowed. The winning team captains shall receive laurels as well as the flag." The demigods cheered loudly. The old centaur continued, "Team captains for the red team are Clarisse LaRue and Piper McLean. Team captains for the blue team are Percy Jackson and Annabeth Case." Each team cheered loudly for their captains. Chiron stomped his hoof signaling for silence before saying, "A feast is going to be prepared for the teams after the game." He laughed heartily, "Curfew has been suspended until three in the morning, so the harpies won't eat you." The demigods erupted into a chorus of cheering and high-fiving. The activities director shook his white stallion body with a stern face and said, "That means strict adherence to the game and feast. No one is allowed to leave unless they are going back to their cabin with a sibling" He noticed a few campers sending devious and sneaky looks across the pavilion. He said, "If I catch any of you outside of the stated area, you will be subject to punishment." Mr. D mumbled something about the lack of wine needed to get through Chiron monologues. Chiron looked down at the god of wine and spoke in a hushed tone, "Your restrictions, sir."

"To Hades with my restrictions!" Dionysus yelled. Distant thunder rumbled. The thunder was so deep it rattled the plates and goblets of the campers. Nearly two hundred campers fixed their eyes upon their camp director. In return, Mr. D smiled sheepishly and grabbed a food magazine out of thin air and began reading it intently. Chiron gave a short smile and gave a few other announcements. About twenty minutes later, the demigods were dismissed to their final preparation.

* * *

Inside the Poseidon cabin, the head counselors (and Thalia, since she was in command of the hunters) of the blue team met in secrecy.

Annabeth studied the detailed blueprints of the woods, "The flag will be set on this tree, deep in the woods, about fifteen feet up." She ran her finger across the map. She stole a glance at Brandon Michezo as she spoke, "The Nike cabin will be responsible for capturing the enemy flag. They're fastest and strongest." She looked up at her fellow leaders, "Anybody disagree with that?" They wisely shook their heads, no. Thalia opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it and shut her mouth. Annabeth continued, "Brandon, take your cabin in by twos. You'll comb the woods for the flag. The ten Hunters of Artemis will follow close behind you." After another moment of close study of the map, she spoke, "Half of the Apollo cabin will be in the trees on sniper duty. The other half will be on ground defense, forming a loose semi-circle in the general vicinity of the flag facing the creek." She swallowed tensely deciding the next best decision, "Leo, I assume the Hephaestus cabin has prepared a powerful defense in the woods and around the flag."

He nodded and said, "The best."

Annabeth rubbed her temples, "Good, your cabin will be stationed around the flag. Travis, your cabin will be on hard defense in our side of the woods. Show them your dirtiest tricks." She noticed Travis was grinned wildly. "Make sure you give them a hard fight. The Athena and Poseidon cabins will be also be on defense." She continued, "Thalia, Percy, and I will be roving." She bent down beneath the table and brought out a celestial bronze shield. She brushed her honey-blonde hair out of her eyes as she leaned thoughtfully over it and explained, "The Hephaestus cabin will be using this to watch our movements and track the enemy. We used it during the Titan's attack on Mount Olympus."

Travis nodded, "Sounds good." His curly brown hair rolled over his ears (and nearly over his eyes) and flailed around whenever he moved and spoke. Though he was eighteen, his dark eyes twinkled giving him an impish appearance. Annabeth couldn't help but notice the differences between him and his bother, Luke.

The rest of the head counselors nodded in agreement.

Percy nodded as he took out riptide. "Move out," he said.


	5. Ready

**I apologize that this chapter is significantly ****shorter than my other chapters. This one is a sort of a filler, because I wanted the game to begin a chapter. Rest assured, the next chapter will be the usual length. **

Three horns resounded through the valley of Camp Half-Blood. It was seven o'clock and the demigods headed to the armory. They strapped up and armed themselves with every magical item and weapon imaginable. Will Solace of the Apollo cabin was screwing various types of tips onto his golden arrows. He flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up to the son of Poseidon. Percy also spotted Katie Gardner of Demeter slipping something that looked suspiciously like garlic gloves in her skinny jeans. Percy frowned as he wondered what those might do. The former head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, Drew Tanaka, was wearing a Hawaiian sundress. _Not the best camouflage, _Percy thought. He watched as she slipped a dagger down her dress. Annabeth followed Percy's gaze as she stashed her magical baseball in her back pocket and gripped her bronze knife in her hand.

She playfully put her knife around his neck. Annabeth twirled him around to face her. He leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him back. She laughed and shook her head with a smile. As Percy strapped the last piece of armor in place, the demigods began migrating over to the woods. Thalia walked over grinning. Instead of armor, she was wearing two leather bracers to protect her forearms and a grey skintight leather jacket.

"Let's do this," Thalia said. Annabeth nodded, and the three heroes led their team to gathering at the edge of the woods. Chiron had a few more rules to go over. He concluded with a statement about how he was the battlefield medic (should anyone happen to be wounded). Clarisse and her siblings let out some snickers. The Ares cabin and Athena cabins held their flags high, which shimmered a wild boar and an owl. The winner of the last game they had played was the Ares cabin.

"To your positions!" The centaur yelled. "Remember, wait for the horn."

The demigods divided into their teams and headed into their section of the woods. The blue team received the northern woods (north of the creek) and the red team got the southern side.

The teams scrambled into position and they waited. A few minutes later, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia were crouched in some underbrush. They looked at each other in excitement. The flag was hidden. The demigods were ready.

**Whhhoon**. The horn sounded. The game had begun.


	6. Let the games begin!

**Note: I'll be making small changes to this chapter occasionally. Mostly sentence revising and grammer corrections or even a word change here or there. None of the content will be changed though. **

The Nike cabin dashed forward across the creek like cheetahs, swords drawn and muscles flexing. The Hunters of Artemis followed close behind, like the shadow of death. Annabeth, Percy, and Thalia leapt up from the underbrush and headed to the nearest sound of a scuffle. Two sons of Apollo-Colin and Austin-were fighting a squad of Nemesis demigods in a small clearing. The Apollo campers, were fighting deftly with their bows. It was a sword on wood battle. The Nemesis head counselor thrust his sword at one of his enemies. Deftly, Austin caught the sword within his bow. He twisted the bow around him, wrenching the sword out of Damien's hands. Austin brought up his bow hard and smacked Damien across the face with it. Unfortunately, Colin was not so skilled. He was being slashed at mercilessly, and had suffered quite a few cuts and bruises. Percy and Annabeth rushed forward and engaged the Nemesis campers, after receiving a grateful glance from the Apollo camper. After a few fierce minutes of deadly sword and bow play, the blue team bested Nemesis' kids.

The five demigods watched as Greek fire bombs exploded on both sides of the creek. Screaming followed. They split. Austin and Colin sprinted off into the woods, arrows notched. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia ran off to assist the next skirmish.

* * *

At the creek, Nadina and Rusty, both children of Poseidon, were fighting off the Ares campers. The Ares cabin had a personal vendetta against the Poseidon cabin, thanks to Percy who had defeated both Clarisse and her dad. So they made sure to take out their anger on Percy's siblings. The battle waged fiercely. Nadina and Rusty had the energy boost from the water, but they weren't as skilled as the Ares campers. Mark, son of Ares, drove his sword against Rusty's hoping to push him out of the water, but Rusty held his own, and matched each strike with his own. Nadina was also a capable fighter, but was becoming exhausted of fighting multiple campers at once who had far more skill than her.

BOOM! A firecracker exploded into the water. No doubt from the Hermes cabin trying to help. The water splashed wildly around the campers, as the firecracker struggled to maintain its fuse. The confusion provided an opportunity for the children of Poseidon to take advantage of the sputtering Ares campers. Rusty quickly slashed down Mark and knocked another camper's head with his hilt. Nadina kicked a camper on his side, then disarmed another. The firecracker finally exploded showering the campers in light and water. Three standing Ares campers were slowly backing out of the water. Rusty grunted and strained as he willed the water to rise into a splashing column of fury. He almost dropped it, Nadina came to his aid. With their combined power, they launched it at the remaining campers, knocking them at least ten feet away. The water wildly splashed back into the creek bed. The two members of the blue team high-fived and laughed, but quickly remembered their duty.

* * *

No more than a hundred yards away, another intense skirmish was in play. Lou Ellen of Hecate and three of her sisters were winning a battle against a few Hermes boys. The daughters of Hecate had magically disconnected the arms of the Hermes boys, who were desperately yelling for help. Lou Ellen laughed hysterically and blasted a layer of mud over their enemies. SNAPP! Out of the brambles leapt Thalia, Annabeth, and Percy.

"Yahh!" Thalia yelled as she tapped her bracelet. Aegis sprung to life. Lou Ellen and her sisters scrambled backwards, but they looked more wary than scared. The daughters of Hecate spread out their hands, then clenched them. An invisible force slammed into Aegis and Thalia was thrown against a tree. Annabeth wrenched her Yankees cap out of her back pocket and thrust it on. She disappeared before the naked eye. Percy strode forward flashing Riptide. One of Lou's Ellen's sister's glittery ponytail was yanked backward. She screamed as the invisible force yanked her into the weeds. The other sister grabbed a handful of dirt and blew it into the air. The dirt particles rushed forward and enveloped the invisible force, revealing a girl's form.

"Ha!" Lou Ellen yelled. She launched herself at Annabeth, just as Percy reached her. He engaged the other sister instead. She drew her sword and spoke a spell. The sword animated itself and swung itself at Percy without a holder. Percy put up a defense of parries and counter strikes, but against a steel opponent he couldn't really strike. He had to get to the daughter of Hecate.

Annabeth's Yankees cap had been yanked off by Lou Ellen. They were engaged in hand to hand combat. Lou Ellen's hands glowed eerily. Percy knew that she was using magic to win. Just like his current opponent.

Meanwhile, Thalia groaned as she shakily stood. She shut eyes and passed out.

* * *

Across the creek, a few sons of Demeter were fighting the Hunters of Artemis. The guys had a very dark farmer's tan (revealed by their tank tops) and large muscles. They were as good with the sword as they were with the plow, that is... great. But, too bad for them, the Hunters were excellent. After being attacked by poison ivy, tomatoes, and swords, they quickly bested the Demeter campers.

* * *

Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia had quietly circled back to the blue flag after besting the daughters of Hecate. There, they dispatched a Hermes camper to go see the state of war across the creek.

"I'm going across!" Thalia said abruptly as she watched the camper run off. She took out her bow and notched an arrow. She looked at Percy and Annabeth expectantly.

"I'll go as well," said Annabeth, "Percy can handle things over here." Percy grumbled something in Greek as she watched his girlfriend and friend disappear into the woods. He started off into another section of the woods.

* * *

Gwen, daughter of Nike (the Asian gal who spoke with Percy and Annabeth earlier) led a company of her siblings in a desperate search for the red flag. She met up with another Nike squad, moments earlier. As they ran, scanning the area, they encountered a posse of Tyche's kids, Louis, Scarlett, Isla, and Vincent. The Nike kids twirled their swords, clearly unfazed by their competition. Isla, being head counselor, stepped forward. She slid a playing card out from her sleeve. It had some kind of pink exotic flower on the back. A lily maybe...no, it was a lotus. The card became four separate cards. Her siblings followed suit (no pun intended). Gwen shrugged, but kept ready and alert. Isla twirled as she hurled two of her cards at Gwen. The daughter of Nike instinctively raised her sword in defense. CLINK! One card bounced off her sword, displaying its blade edges. The other card slashed across Gwen's shoulder strap. The blade was so sharp that it ripped through her leather armor and made a slight cut on her arm. Isla raised her eyebrow in mock concern. She signaled her brothers and sister. They let loose a rain of blades. A few cards found their mark, but most were deflected by Nike's swords.

"Get them!" Gwen yelled as she squeezed her upper arm. Blood seeped through her fingers but it seemed to be stopping. The children of Nike ran forward and met the children of Tyche in battle. Each of Tyche's children carried a different weapon. Isla wielded two daggers, Vincent held a bronze sword, Louis notched an arrow on his bow, and Scarlett had a handgun. Vincent went down pretty fast. A large son of Nike knocked his sword away from him then gave him a swift undercut. Scarlett shot a guy in the shoulder with a celestial bronze bullet. Her victim fell, but was replaced by another warrior. With a quick sword swipe the handgun was on the ground and then with quick fist swipe, Scarlett was on the ground. Louis also managed to shoot a child a Nike down, but had to drop his bow to maintain a closer quarters fight. He whipped out dagger, but was disarmed minutes later after he attempted to fight Gwen. Isla held her ground longer than her siblings, but fell after being attacked by four children of Nike at once. She suffered a slash across her leg.

Gwen grabbed Isla's daggers and said, "Guess luck wasn't with you tonight." She waved her group forward, deeper into the woods.

* * *

Clarisse and about eighty percent of the Ares cabin guarded the flag. If anybody wanted it, they had to get through them. The red flag was hidden on top of Zeus' fist. A fight with Ares cabin, then a rock climb. It would be difficult. She hated the shell though. The small glimmering shell that the Iris cabin put in everybody's ear. It shimmered a faint rainbow, but Valerie said it would be sufficient. With this, Clarisse could communicate with anyone on her team and vice versa. She was receiving an Iris call at the moment.

"Clarisse, the Nike cabin is getting close," came the strained voice of Isla, head counselor of the Tyche cabin.

Clarisse snarled, "What? You couldn't hold them off? I suppose not. Did you see anyone else?" Isla replied that she had not. "How many?" Clarisse demanded.

Isla gasped as replied, "We took down about three, so around four are coming. Gwen is with them."

Clarisse expected that, but she never expected the arrow. The silver flash broke itself upon the rock. The daughter of Ares looked down at the broken arrow.

She screamed to her teammates, "Hunters!" Along with the Ares cabin, there were a few Demeter and Aphrodite kids, Hebe was there as well and a few of Nico's skeletons. A rain of silver fell upon the campers. Then they emerged stealthily, the ten deadly Hunters of Artemis.

Clarisse yelled, "Hebe, Demeter, and Aphrodite stay back. There are enough for the Ares cabin!" Like tigers, the Hunters pounced. The Ares cabin had prepared for this, they were ready. Clarisse met Phoebe, both wielding swords. The clashing steel resounded through the clearing. Clarisse kicked and slashed as Phoebe stabbed and lunged. The skill was even.

"Now!" Clarisse commanded. Greek fire bombs blasted around the edges of the clearing, cutting off any help. Green fire lit the clearing. Smoke bombs exploded closer, throwing a thick screen over the campers. The fight continued though, wildly slashing and clashing. It was a blind fight. Clarisse felt someone kick her, but she couldn't see who it was. She knew the flag was okay though since it wasn't on top of Zeus's Fist after all. That was just an illusion cast by Lou Ellen. The smoke cleared to reveal the "flag" was gone.

Phoebe charged up to Clarisse and shoved her, "Where is the flag? You can't move the flag!" Clarisse shoved her back and laughed, "You have to know a magic illusion when you see one!" Phoebe snarled and led the Hunters off into the woods. As soon as they left, the Ares cabin burst out laughing. Sherman bellowed, "Did you see the look on her face?"

Clarisse watched as the illusion reappeared on top the of the rock pile. She said, "Hebe, Demeter, and Aphrodite." She glanced at the listless skeletons, "and...skeletons. Stay here. The Ares cabin is moving out."

* * *

Percy was running towards the sound of clashing steel, but never made it there. He slammed into a mass of brown hair, eagles feathers, and armor. When he regained his senses he found himself staring face to face with Piper McLean. She lunged with her knife, but she was out of her league. Percy quickly disarmed her and backed her into a tree. He rested the sword point against her throat.

"Well, look who's here. The head counselor of Aphrodite," Percy said triumphantly, "What a capture!"

Piper looked at him with eyes that screamed for mercy. She spoke in an almost melodic tone, "Percy, please put down your sword." The sound of her voice was like butter, churning through the air and melting into Percy's ear. He dropped Riptide and stared dumbly at it. Piper wasn't finished though, "Percy take me to your flag," she said.


	7. The Grand Finale

Things were going great for Piper, as she charmspoke Percy into leading her to the blue flag. She would win the game for her team. It was all great until she got the arrow. A son of Apollo shot a dull tipped arrow at her which struck her back. She collapsed, heaving and panting. _Oh gods, _Piper thought, _This hurts. _Will Solace dropped out a tree above them.

"Piper!" Will exclaimed, "How nice of you to stop by!" At the sound of Will's voice, Percy swung around.

"Hey Will," Percy said. He glanced at Piper and said, "Hi Piper."

"Y'know Percy," Will said as he disarmed Piper, "It almost looked like you were leading her to the flag." Piper smirked through her pain. She was about to speak when Will took out an ACE bandage out of his pocket. Against the pleas for help, he wrapped it around her mouth, preventing her charmspeak. Will loosely tied Piper to a tree, then left with Percy in the direction of the creek.

* * *

There was the red flag...or flags. In the forest clearing, at least fifty red flag were set on the ground. The clearing was encircled by a curtain of rainbow. Annabeth gingerly touched her knife against the light.

**WHOOSH **The rainbow light spiraled upward into a firework and exploded into the sky with a thousand colors. Annabeth cursed, "How could I have been so stupid!"

Annabeth grimaced. "An alarm!" She yelled. "Nike cabin, spread out around the clearing! Keep ready, the enemy will arrive soon, if they're not already here."

"Thalia, Brandon, stay with me!" Annabeth ordered.

Brandon sneered, "We're protecting their flag?"

Thalia laughed, "More like protecting our claim on it!"

That's when the Ares cabin exploded out from the woods. Without any exchange of words, the swords of the cabins met in extreme ferocity. Annabeth took Clarisse herself without any hesitation. She had never forgiven Clarisse for humiliating Percy when he first arrived at camp. Clarisse drove her sword hard against Annabeth's knife. Annabeth twisted within Clarisse's sword and slammed Clarisse backwards into a tree. Clarisse took a swipe at Annabeth's feet, but the daughter of Athena leapt up out of its reach. The head counselor of Ares was not a quitter though. She pushed Annabeth forward and pummeled her with her fist. Annabeth locked Clarisse's sword on her knife's hilt. She tried to push the sword into the ground, but Clarisse was too strong for her. She pushed Annabeth back and kicked her in the stomach. The daughter of Athena gasped. Clarisse was about to land her sword in Annabeth's shoulder, but it met another sword. Brandon, smiling, held Clarisse in check and engaged her. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief, but she found another duty, getting the flag. After a minute or two of furious deadly dueling, Brandon passed Clarisse off to the daughter of Zeus. Clarisse slammed her sword onto Thalia's, but she was her equal. Thalia swung her heel across Clarisse's face and knocked her sword aside. Thalia dropped her sword and grabbed Clarisse by her shoulders. Thalia yelled and lightning flickered into Clarisse's body. The daughter of Ares collapsed in a heap.

In the rest of battle, the Nike cabin and the Ares cabin were equally matched. The Ares cabin knew that if they fell, there was really no one else to fight. Well there were few others...

* * *

Leo Valdez and the Hephaestus cabin were desperately trying to protect their flag. If the skeletons were springing all of their traps they would be winning. Nico and his sister had conjured up a squadron of skeletons and launched them at the flag. Of course the Hephaestus cabin had called for help and fought the bony boys, but it wasn't really working. When a skeleton fell, he just popped back into joint. The Apollo cabin shot arrows from the trees, one exploded a skeletons skull, while another sawed a skull in half. Leo fought with his hammer, which was aglow with red light, the fire of Hephaestus. Soon enough, all of the defense traps will have been sprung.

**BOOOM!** The tree on which the flag was hung was ringed with Greek fire. The flames nearly singed the flag as it rose past it. The skeletons that had reached the last defense line were entirely incinerated. Only a black circle remained where they had been standing. Nico and his sister passed out from exhaustion.

"Fall back!" Leo yelled. His cabin was being overwhelmed by the skeletons. Just when all but Jake Mason and Leo were standing, the Nemesis cabin crashed forward to the tree.

"Great," Jake grunted as he fought a son of Nemesis. The golden arrows continued to rain down from the trees. Some had boxing gloves attached to their tips, others had rainbow streamers flying behind. A few of the Apollo campers dropped out the trees and fought the Nemesis campers, but most stayed on sniper duty.

Behind the the Nemesis cabin, came a group of mismatched demigods led by Katie Gardner. Clovis, son of Hypnos, touched the nearest tree and gripped it hard. The Apollo campers stationed in that tree fell onto the ground snoring away. A son of Hecate spoke a spell and Leo and Jake's swords turned to water and melted into the ground. Another child of Hecate spread a thick layer of snow over the sniper filled trees. The Apollo cabin was silenced. The red team rushed forward, unhindered. Just before he was knocked unconscious, Leo managed to press the button on his side pocket. A fiery flare lit up the sky above the flag's tree.

Katie Gardner sprinted towards the flag. She stood beneath it and spread out her hands. The tree limbs began lowering themselves towards the ground. The lower branches snapped from the close proximity with the ground. A moment later, the blue flag was in Katie's hands. Without a moment's hesitation she ran towards the creek.

* * *

Roughly five minutes later...

Without facing any opposition, Katie Gardner, ran through the woods, carrying the blue flag. The creek was in view, she was almost there when...

The Athena cabin materialized around her. Some dropped out of trees, some others sprung out of the underbrush, while a few more threw off a camouflage blanket.

Katie screamed. Just before Malcolm reached her, she dropped to the ground and pushed the dirt with her nails. The forest floor vaporized into a golden wheat field. The Athena cabin had lost sight of the daughter of Demeter.

Malcolm glanced around wildly and yelled, "Athena! To the creek!" The thirty-some demigods ran to the creek. Malcolm took out a match and he lit the wheat field. In a matter of seconds the wheat was a field of flames.

Malcolm ordered Rusty and Nadina to quench the flames. They rose the creek and flung into the forest. Steam rose and clouded their view of the woods. A figure was coming into view. No it was figures. Katie Gardner and half the red team was coming out of the steaming woods.

Malcolm roared to his cabin, "Hold your ground." But they never had to. The ten Hunters of Artemis leapt over the dry creek bed and over the Athena cabin. A volley of silver arrows embedded themselves in the red team. Grapevines sprung from the ground, and held a Hunter captive. Magical wind picked up and ripped the leaves form the trees, the leaves became deadly projectiles as Lou Ellen flung them at the Hunters. The leaves sliced across the Hunters' skin leaving shallow cuts. The Athena cabin joined the Hunters in the fray. Percy Jackson and Will Solace came running from down the creek. Golden arrows flew alongside silver as the battle intensity increased. The Hermes cabin emerged from the blue team's woods. The red team was being crushed in a vise. Complete chaos erupted as the rest of the Aphrodite, Hebe, and Demeter cabins burst onto the creek. Only a few people took notice of Thalia, Brandon, and Annabeth quietly arrive at the edge of the forest with the red flag, and one of them was a member of the red team.

Meghann, daughter of Aphrodite yelled out, "The red flag!" The voice carried itself though the battle. Every head turned toward the trio of warriors.

"GO!" Annabeth yelled as the red team rushed forward in their direction. Brandon grabbed the flag and sprinted at Olympic speed. He was nearly across the dried creek when a grapevine grew across his path, he jumped and avoided it, but tripped over a tomato vine. He got up, but the Nemesis kids were already on top of him, they tried the wrench the flag out of him hands, but Brandon held on. Lightning flashed around Brandon as multiple strikes touched the earth. The red team backed up. Aegis appeared amid the confusion of the battle. It parted the demigods like the red sea, the replica of Medusa's head. The battle raged around as more demigods joined it. The Hebe cabin went down pretty fast, but the rest of the red team fought with unprecedented intensity. Piper McLean looking a bit disheveled and angry ran and tackled Nadina, daughter of Poseidon. An arrow struck the shoulder of the Hunter, Phoebe. Rainbow light flashed through the crowd, the Iris cabin had joined the fight. Valerie, Butch, and Melanie assaulted Annabeth and Thalia. A rain of fire arrows signaled the entry of the Apollo cabin, more like half of it. Twenty-one blonde demigods, each carrying a drawn bow, jumped into the fight. Shields slammed against spears. Arrows flew and javelins were thrown. Swords slashed against knives.

* * *

Across the forest, the Ares and Nike cabins were still duking it out. This was pivotal for the blue team, so as not to unite the red team fully.

* * *

Annabeth kicked a camper down and looked around. She yelled to Will Solace, "Where are the flags?"

The head counselor of the Apollo cabin shot down a son of Demeter and glanced through the battle. "I don't know!" He replied.

Brandon still had the blue flag in his hand, but he had his sword in his other. He no longer had Thalia's lightning protection and was trying to fight his way to the other side of the creek. One moment Percy was beside him driving back the sons of Hecate, in another moment the Hunters of Artemis were firing arrows like machine guns beside him.

Katie Gardner wasn't having much better luck in getting the blue flag across. She was standing in the middle of the creek and not gaining much ground. Thalia emerged from the fray and slashed at her, but was engulfed in the battle again. But then she saw an opening, a path through the battle.

Brandon struggled to move in the battle and with his stocky form and large muscles he began pushing across the creek.

The head counselor of the Demeter cabin, sprinted past fallen demigods and intense skirmishes. She had onto firmer ground, to the red team's side and she thought she had won the game. Katie laughed with delight.

Her delight was cut short by the sight of Brandon Michezo on the opposite side of the creek with the red flag. When the realization spread across the battle, it slowly ventured towards stopping. At that moment Katie was surrounded by the Ares and Nike cabins converging onto the creek area. Silence replaced the clanging of bronze. Chiron, the immortal centaur, came galloping through the woods to announce the winner. But who had won?


	8. And the winner is!

The demigods had assembled in the amphitheater and awaited the crowning of the laurels. No one knew who had won, other than Chiron. On one side of the stage was Clarisse, Piper, and Katie, while on the other side was Percy, Annabeth, and Brandon. Chiron approached them, his hooves beating with the suspense of the moment. A satyr followed close beside him, carrying the three laurel crowns on a satin pillow.

Chiron took a laurel in his hands. He clomped into the very center. He laughed, "Well! That was quite a game." His horse tail swished around in excitement, "This was difficult to determine, the winner that is." He gripped the laurels, "So now the moment you've all been waiting for. Both teams showed great skill and battle expertise." Nearly all of the demigods shifted their feet in anticipation. Chiron continued, "The losing team was so close, only a moment behind. But not close enough for a tie." He smiled, "And the winning team is...THE BLUE TEAM!"

Half of the demigods seated erupted into shouts and screams of delight. Fireworks shot into the sky and streamers fell onto the amphitheater. Annabeth hugged Percy and the three high-fived. Thalia smiled widely gave her friends a thumbs up. Percy motioned to his team, gesturing them up. Clarisse, Piper, and Katie were nearly trampled as a flood of a hundred demigods rushed up to the stage. Arm in arm, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia laughed and danced as the satyrs broke out into a David Guetta song.

After the laurels were placed upon the heads of the Percy, Brandon, and Annabeth, Clarisse and her teammates congratulated them. The red team was clearly disappointed, but they were good sports.

The celebration lasted far into the night and concluded with a feast. The red team had nearly forgotten their loss by early morning. The first rays of dawn were just peeking over the horizon when the demigods sleepily wondered off to catch a few hours of sleep.


End file.
